Bobby Hill: Collingwood star ruled out of making return for Magpies’ preliminary final clash with Brisbane

Bobby Hill won’t earn a sensational Collingwood recall for Saturday’s preliminary final, with Magpies coach Craig McRae ruling out the Norm Smith medallist in a “really difficult” call.

Hill has played just one match since June - a cameo appearance as the substitute in round 21 - amid challenging personal circumstances.

The silky forward trained with teammates on Thursday morning as he pushes for a return, but McRae dismissed the prospect of Hill being named against Brisbane.

Hill starred in his most recent finals match in 2023, crowned the Norm Smith winner for a brilliant four-goal display in the grand final win over this week’s opponent in the Lions.

“Bobby won’t play this weekend,” McRae said on Thursday morning.

“It was really difficult - I told him before training ... it was a conversation that was hard for him to hear but it was a reality of right now with his preparation and credit to him he trained really, really well which shows how far he’s come in the last little period.

“He’s working hard to get back and this is not permanent, but this week he’s not available.”

McRae said the decision was “based on a lot of little things” both with 25-year-old Hill and the team, and did not rule him out of playing the grand final.

“I’d like to think so, I don’t want to take away hope for the young lad and he’s progressing towards that,” the 2023 premiership coach said.

“I mentioned that to him - keep training well, keep turning up, keep being here, being present, keep getting better every day as we always say.

“There may be a world where that could be true.”

Fellow premiership forward Brody Mihocek has been cleared to line up on Saturday after being subbed out of Collingwood’s qualifying final injury with a foot issue, while key defender Jeremy Howe trained fully on Thursday as he states his case for a recall following an adductor injury.

Howe has been subbed out of his past four games for the Pies with a string of issues, dating back to the round 17 win over Carlton.

“We’re going to weigh up right now, is he fit to play or fit to perform? That’s been our mantra all year based on the lessons learnt last year,” McRae said of Howe.

“A high-performance team will present those numbers in front of us ... and then we just weigh up what’s best for the team this week.”